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Cohen’s Statement on Trump’s FY2018 Budget

May 23, 2017

Press Release

[WASHINGTON, D.C.] — Congressman Steve Cohen (TN-09) today released the following statement on President Trump’s Fiscal Year 2018 budget:

“President Trump’s so-called ‘taxpayer first’ budget would be detrimental to taxpaying low- and middle-income Americans, while it would greatly benefit super rich Americans. The President’s budget cuts Medicaid an astounding $1.4 trillion over 10 years and makes deep cuts to programs essential to many Americans such as food stamps (SNAP), Children’s Health Insurance Program (CHIP), the Women, Infants and Children nutrition program (WIC), Low Income Home Energy Assistance Program (LIHEAP), Temporary Assistance for Needy Families (TANF) and Meals on Wheels. In addition, the President’s budget eliminates all federal funding for Planned Parenthood, the primary health care provider for low-income women, and would slash billions from the National Institutes of Health (NIH) and the Centers for Disease Control (CDC), putting America’s health at risk. The budget significantly cuts Social Security Disability Insurance (SSDI), the Minority Business Development Agency, Legal Services Corporation, Community Development Block Grants, the Environmental Protection Agency, the State Department, the National Endowment for the Arts, the National Endowment for Humanities, the Corporation for Public Broadcasting and more. The list of draconian cuts is huge. All of these cuts come as the Department of Defense would receive a more than $500 billion increase in its budget over 10 years even though the United States already spends more on its military than the next eight countries combined. An increase of that magnitude is unnecessary and should never come at the expense of these other programs that directly help Americans on a day-to-day basis. Cuts to these programs have also been proposed to allow for more tax breaks for the wealthiest Americans. This is cruel, bad policy, morally wrong and contrary to the President’s campaign promises. This is no ‘taxpayer first’ budget, it is a ‘rich people first’ budget. It delivers a huge blow to hard-working, taxpaying Americans who rely on government assistance to help provide for their families.”